MoviePass - is it worth ten bucks?

MoviePass, the service that allows you to see one movie every day in 91% of the theaters in the U.S., recently dropped its price to $6.95 a month. Is it worth it? What’s the trick? 
I signed up in early 2018 and here’s what I found out about the top 12 rumors surrounding a MoviePass membership.

Rumor #1: MoviePass is difficult to use.
Answer: False 

If you can download and app and keep track of a credit card, it’s a breeze. (Sorry, Greatest Generation.) 

Here's how it works: 
After you sign up, a Movie Pass Mastercard arrives in the mail. Next, you'll download an app to search theaters, movies and times. 

Once you are set up, it’s a two-step process:
1. When you are within 100 yards of the theater, open the app and click on the movie you want to see (similar to a social check in). 
2. Step up to the ticket counter, swipe your MoviePass card and leave your money in your wallet. 

 
 

Rumor #2: Most of the good movies are blocked.  
Answer: False. I’ve seen blockbuster movies on opening night.  

You can see most any 2D movie, even popular ones on opening weekend. However, you can’t use it for 3D or IMAX movies. During my first month, the price of my opening week Black Panther ticket would have been $11.99. I covered the cost of my membership and saved myself a few bucks too.  

Rumor #3: Only a few theaters will accept MoviePass, and AMC has banned its use. 
Answer: False. Most theaters accept it at their ticket booth, gladly.  

MoviePass claims that it is accepted in 91% of the theaters in the U.S., and that matches my experience. In Dallas, AMC, Alamo Drafthouse, Angelika, Studio Movie Grill, Regal, Cinemark and others take MoviePass. Only Landmark Theares (Magnolia/Inwood) and LOOK Cinema do not participate. While AMC corporate is not a fan of CEO Mitch Lowe and his company, their public beef doesn’t trickle down to ticket booth employees who swipe your MoviePass card like any other credit card. 

Update: As notified on April 4, 2018 Landmark Theaters are now accepting MoviePass. Additionally they are offering e-ticketing so that you can reserve your seat.

Rumor #4: You wind up going to movies you normally wouldn’t. 
Answer: True  

MoviePass calls their product “bad movie insurance” because when you see a dud such as Mother, you feel better knowing that you didn’t have to pay for it. More positively, the pass does encourage you to try movies you might have waited for such as a curious documentary or a comedy that might not be worth ten bucks.  

The week before the Academy Awards, I was able to craft an event week of Oscar encores. I treated myself to second showings of Oscar-nominated films that I had paid for the year before. Yup, I saw five movies for under ten bucks that were especially enjoyable as a build up to the awards show. 

I saw some old faves too. My local Alamo Drafthouse Cinema shows classics on weeknights, so I treated myself a showing of The Fugitive to see that train crash on the big screen one more time.

Rumor #5: It’s $10 a month. 
Answer: False.  

The general answer is $10 a month. However, my own sign up was for $7.95 a month and I can cancel at any time. At the time of this blog entry, the price for new users is $6.95 with a one-time startup fee of $6.55.  

Rumor #6: You have to show up in person to get tickets — so you risk a movie selling out 
Answer: True.
 
This is the toughest pill to swallow and will likely separate whether MoviePass is worth it for you or not. As a city dweller, I’ve been trained to get my tickets early (and reserve my seats). MoviePass requires you to get your tickets at the theater. That can be a hassle, but I’ve been able to hack this with a little extra effort. Recently, I used the pass to get a ticket and reserve a seat for myself (and buy one for a friend) during lunch, allowing me to show up at 9:25 p.m. for the 9:30 p.m. sold out show. There are a few theaters that will allow you to reserve a seat without being yards away. In Dallas, all Studio Movie Grill locations allow you to reserve tickets from your couch at home.


April 5, 2018 Update: Landmark Theaters in Dallas now do eticketing as well as Studio Movie Grill.

Rumor #7: You can’t see the same movie more than once. 
Answer: True.  

If you were planning to see Avengers: Infinity War 30 times next month with your pass, your Spidey sense is failing you. You can only see a movie title one time, darnit.  

Rumor #8: It’s great for solo moviegoers, but not so much if you prefer group outings.
Answer: Depends.  

As a singleton, MoviePass has also made me more likely to go to movies by myself. I can make the spontaneous decision to see a movie in theaters if I have a few hours to kill.

I’ve used the pass with friends too, it just takes some coordination that is worth it some times, and not worth it other times.

If you have a significant other or bestie with MoviePass, it’s a no-brainer, gift each other a pass. If you're in your twenties, it’s likely all your friends have both Netflix and MoviePass.

Rumor #9: MoviePass collects info on its users, tracks them and sells the data.
Answer: Not exactly.  

At SXSW, CEO Mitch Lowe gave a keynote at the Entertainment Finance Forum entitled “Data is the New Oil: How will MoviePass Monetize It?” that frightened audiences. He has backtracked since, stating he misspoke at a recent industry conference. MoviePass, which is controlled by Helios and Matheson Analytics, only when checks locations when users are checking for a theater in their area and when they check in to a theater. While the company is unlikely following you for sinister reasons, MoviePass plans to use geographical information to push dinner and a movie offers from nearby restaurants. To the uninformed, this is no different than opening up Google on your mobile. Users have been able to control their tracking options within the app, but the “track all the time” option has recently been removed.

Rumor #10: It takes from 2 weeks to 2 months to receive your card 
Answer: False  

While they aren’t on par with Amazon delivery times, MoviePass seems to have recovered from their slow-to-mail stigma and their CostCo promotion overload that had the internet boiling. My card arrived in my mailbox in less than a week.


 

Rumor #11: MoviePass can’t buy everyone movies and it will be bankrupt soon. 
Answer: We’ll see.  

Clearly, MoviePass is losing money this year and hope that the moviegoer average (4.5 movies a year) kicks in once everyone has overused their new pass.  

While they’ve said nothing of the sort, I expect that their end game is to have a card in every hand of folks in the U.S., and then control what MoviePass pays theaters, forge deals with pre-orders on concession sales, strongarm studios for ads, sell local restaurant ads and more. Yuck overall, but this doesn’t affect you the user as much as it does your theater chain.

 

Rumor #12: Everyone is doing it. 
Answer: Almost true. 

It sure feels like it. At a recent visit, the ticketbuyers at the booth to my left and to my right were using a pass. 20somethings are definitely using it. MoviePass claims it is now paying for one in every 20 movie tickets purchased in the U.S., and if its projections are accurate, that figure could rise to one in every eight by 2019. Wowza.

I was suspicious of MoviePass’ too good to be true promise, but the $7.95 monthly price delivered on value, ease of use, experience — and I’ve enjoyed the flexibily of seeing a few movies I never would have seen on the big screen. 

However, my popcorn budget is up for the year.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.